On a Roll With His Thoughts
by BleedPurple
Summary: Here's my first fanfic that shows what Gio was thinking after Betty happily gave him advice on what to name his shop, and how he reacted when Daniel approached Gio as Betty's Boyfriend! Yikes! Summaries are harder than the actual story!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first fan fiction I'm submitting for everyone here, who have already written such wonderful stories! This one is from the "Wicked" episode. I've always wondered what Gio was doing after Betty enthusiastically suggested what he should name his shop, and how he reacted when Daniel approached him as Betty's boyfriend! So here's my take on it! I hope you enjoy it!**

**This Fanfic is dedicated to Beatrice, who "Lit a fire under me" as Gio would say…**

On a roll. Hero Worship. A cartoon sandwich that flexes his muscles. Those really weren't bad ideas. _Damn it! Where the hell was she two weeks ago when I was up all night trying to think of some thing creative?_

It had been at least a couple of hours since Gio had seen Betty for the first time after he had dropped her back off at Mode a few weeks earlier. She had seemed irritated at someone (he assumed it was him), so he figured he'd lighten the mood by thanking her for getting him fired and for the side job of delivering her boss' motorized baby seat. That seemed to set her off even more, however, as she thanked him for the ride and for being "Humiliatingly obnoxious." Whatever that meant. He found her highly amusing when she was annoyed, but so many things have happened in the past month that he honestly hadn't thought much about her until he decided to pass out his fliers around Mode.

And yet, here he was, leaning against someone's cubicle, replaying that adorable arm flex Betty gave him over and over again in his head. _She's still a little judgmental though. It's not like I'm the only guy on the planet who hangs out at strip clubs._

His daydreaming was interrupted when he heard someone on the other side of the cubicle wall start to whine about his fliers. "They're all over the place!" she exclaimed. "It's like I'm working in 1970's Technicolor nightmare!"

"I'm sorry for troubling you, Miss Mode-bot number 164" Gio replied, with fake concern. "If you're willing to pay for me to have any sort of televised commercial advertising, I'd be _more_ than happy to take all these down. In the meantime.."- he handed her a flier with a smile - "I open in about week. Come on down and I'll make you anything you want."

Her only predictable response was to look at his flier like he tried to hand her a smashed spider and stomp off in a snotty huff. _Typical Mode girl_, he thought. _Unlike Betty. I was wrong about her. _And her arm flex slowly started to make it's way back into his mind.

_Damn it, Gio! Was it really that cute? Pull Yourself together! You got work to do!_

"Excuse me!" A voice called after him. Gio turned to see a tall red head holding one of his fliers. This woman was more than just a red head though. She had a super tight red dress on, fiery red lipstick and red high heels that made her tower over him. And the finishing touch on this red giant was her obviously unnatural tan. _People really find this attractive? _Gio asked himself. "What?" Gio asked, unable to hide his obvious irritation.

Red Giant seemed unconcerned with his attitude. "Do you sell burgers at your shop?" she asked.

"No, because it's a _sandwich_ shop," Gio stated with annoyance, and then with incredulity, "_You_ eat burgers?"

"I eat Veggie burgers!!" the red head stated, with what Gio detected as a slight hint of secrecy. "You should totally sell those!"

Gio was impressed, and was surprised to find himself feeling a bit sorry for the girl. She's standing before him looking like a cherry pixie stick, having to hide the fact she eats fake burgers. He pitied her…at least he did until she started talking to him as if he were a mentally handicapped child. "It's considered a _sandwich_, you know. It's something between _two_ slices of bread."

"Would you even eat it if it were in between two slices of bread?"

The woman looked disgusted. "No!" she exclaimed.

Gio rolled his eyes. He was starting to think he made a mistake trying to get people at Mode to come to his shop. None of these skeletal fashion bimbos were eaters. "Look," he said. "My shop opens in a week. Come down and I'll make you a lettuce sandwich in between two pieces of…I don't know, more lettuce, I guess. And I'll sell it to you for only six bucks. How's that sound?"

"That's so sweet of you!" the woman squealed. Gio sighed. _Hundreds of people working at Mode and only one is an eater. Just two if you count me. Me, Betty, and that sweet little flexed…_

_I'm doing it again, damn it! _he thought. _Betty is annoying. She's basically a doormat for all these fashion zombies. She's really not even all that cute. Okay, she is a little cute. Especially when she's flexing her arm. Or angry. Or pointing at me. Wait a minute, she's pointing at me…_

All Gio had done was turn around, and there Betty was, across the room, talking to her boss and pointing at him. And the only thing he could think of to do was to instantly flex his arm at her. He regretted it for at least a few seconds, as Betty at first made a weird face, as if she were confused. But then she flexed her arm and smiled back at him. She was adorable all over again. Gio thought about going over and teasing her about her cute and tiny muscle, but seeing as she was talking to the head Mode guy, he figured he'd find something to bug her about later.

It wasn't until after he had walked away that he started worrying about why Betty was pointing at him. She wasn't getting him fired again, was she?

_Fired? I don't work here anymore._

Gio then remembered Betty was smiling she pointed at him. And of course, he started thinking about that adorable flexed arm. _Hopefully, she's telling her boss about my shop, _he thought, as he headed down to his van to gather the last remaining fliers he would pass out.

_And hopefully she remembered my shop is called Gio's Sandwiches, and NOT Hero Worship, however good the title is._

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to thank everyone for the wonderful comments about my story. I'm happy you enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy the second part. Sorry it took me longer to write than I had expected! The first draft I had written I wasn't happy with at all and had to start all over!**

Later that afternoon, Gio had noticed a few businesses in the area that seemed to be full of people who would definitely appreciate every sandwich Gio had to offer. Gio was pretty confident he could bring in some more business from them if he posted a few fliers around their office.

The problem: Gio had already posted a lot of his fliers throughout Mode and various places around his neighborhood. He had only two fliers left, and he really didn't have the budget to print out another 500 copies.

The solution: Gio decided to head back to Mode, find the skinniest stick figures in the building, and take down any of the fliers he had stuck on the walls around them. No sense in wasting advertising on people who probably eat twice a week….and who he also was surprised to discover honestly couldn't spell "Bob" backwards, but managed to remember that there was no such thing as fat free mayo. A few of the Mode-bots even stopped and thanked him for the tip.

Gio took his two remaining fliers and headed back up to Mode. Now if he could only get his older sister off the phone so he could focus.

"You'll never believe what that wench Tina had the NERVE to say to me next," Allegra shouted, clearly irate at this point.

"Allegra, I have…"

"She said if I had a _million_ chances to get it right, I'd _still_ blow it!" Allegra continued, ignoring him completely. "She's _so freaking jealous _she's transparent. I told her if she gets the promotion, it will only be because her tits and her ass are so flat they figured she wouldn't take up much space. She said, 'No, it's because I'm bilingual. I speak Spanish.' And then I said, 'Adding an O at the end of every word is NOT speaking Spanish.' And you know what she did to me, Gio?"

"Listen, I really have to…"

"She hit me! She HIT me, Gio! Okay…she didn't _hit_ hit me. It was more like this trollish little shoulder tap combined with a push. But it _hurt_ and I didn't appreciate it!"

"Allegra!" Gio said sharply. "I just called to ask if you could baby-sit Antonella tonight. I don't even know how we got on this subject."

"I just thought you'd like to know how my day went." Allegra stated, still upset. "And no, I can't watch Nella. It's your turn this week. You know that."

"But Tony said he could come over tonight and show me how to keep up with bookkeeping," Gio said, trying his best not to sound like he was whining. "I can't concentrate with her blasting both High School Musical movies through my apartment all night."

"Consider it payback for all the times I had to watch _you_ run around the house singing every song from Aladdin all day!" Allegra quipped.

"Very funny." Gio sulked. "Look, I'm trying to start a business here. When's Ma and Pop coming back from Florida anyway?"

"Pop said when they find a good place to grow old and die."

"That's just great."

Gio had made his way up to the main part of Mode by this point. He acknowledged a woman who was griping about how she drank her niece's juice box and afterward noticed it had 70 calories, and was angry the four-year-old neglected to mention it. "Perfect!" Gio stated, as he started taking a few fliers down. _I'm pretty sure I'll never see any of these Mode nut jobs in my shop any time soon._

"I have to go, Allegra," Gio said. "If you can't watch Antonella then I have to get the rest of these fliers out before she gets out of school."

"Nella hates coming to my apartment anyway," Allegra stated. "She thinks Roosevelt Island is creepy."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have taken her to see Dark Water. Ma said she had nightmares for weeks!"

Gio turned around to head back to his van, only to see Betty's boss directly in front of him a few feet away, smiling at him. _Ah, jeez. What did I do now? _"I have to go, Allegra."

"What about my situation at work?!" Allegra exclaimed. "What should I do about Tina?"

"I have no idea."

Allegra let out a sharp laugh. "That's real funny," She jeered. "Usually you have an answer for everything, whether I want to hear it or not."

Betty's boss was only a few feet away from him now. "Just don't get yourself fired, and don't get yourself arrested _again_." And with that, Gio hung up the phone before his sister could say anything more.

Gio assessed Betty's boss quickly. The last time he had seen him, he was in a wheelchair, but he was clearly a lot better now. He looked like the typical rich boy he had gotten use to seeing around Manhattan, but Gio noticed there was something slightly more friendly and approachable about him. _Still, he's never spoken to me before. Nothing about this meeting can be good._

"Head Mode Guy!" Gio said, adding a friendly smile to the title as Daniel approached him. He quickly handed him one of his fliers. "Have you heard about my Sandwich shop? I open in a week."

Mode Boy chuckled. "Yeah, your fliers are kind of hard to miss." He commented, gesturing toward the fliers that were still up on the walls around them.

Gio ran his fingers through his hair. _So that's what this is about. _"Yeah…I guess I did get a little carried away." He smirked. "I'm actually here to take some of them down."

Betty's boss didn't seem to be listening, however. Instead, he was glancing down at one of Gio's fliers, his eyes furrowed in concentration. "Gio…Gio…" he murmured. "I'm sorry, but your name sounds _really_ familiar to me."

"It should," Gio nodded. "You had me fired."

Mode's Boy's head shot up in shock. "Are you the sandwich guy that was working here not too long ago?" Gio nodded.

Mode Boy started to laugh, and Gio found himself hoping his confusion masked any trace of annoyance he was starting to feel. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"I'm sorry," Betty's boss claimed, handing Gio back his flier before he extend hand to shake Gio's. "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Daniel Meade, Betty's boss. But please call me Daniel. It's nice to finally meet you."

"_Finally" meet me? _Gio thought, as he shook Daniel's hand. He found it interesting that Daniel told him to call him by his first name and not "Mr. Meade", like a lot of the other spoiled playboys expected. "I figured you were Betty's boss," he began. "But I still can't figure out what the joke is."

"You have to understand," Daniel explained. "You had Betty pretty riled up over sun dried tomatoes. Sorry I had to fire you, but you might want to thank me. She genuinely seemed like she wanted to smack you with a bat!"

"I seem to have that effect on her." Gio agreed, remembering her shocked and insulted face the first time he quacked at her.

Daniel still seemed pretty amused, but at the same time he now looked puzzled. "I gotta say, Gio," he began. "I don't think I understand how all this came about, but I'm kind of glad you and Betty are dating now."

Gio has been leaning against someone's desk at this point, his legs comfortably supporting him until the word "Dating" fell out of Daniel's mouth. Then they seem to buckle beneath him. "What?!" Gio spit out, after he regained his balance.

"She's been having such a hard time getting over her last boyfriend," Daniel continued. Either he didn't notice Gio's alarmed facial expression or he didn't care. "I was starting to think she wasn't making a real effort to move on, but now I see she's dating you. I guess I can stop bugging her about her office romance."

_What office romance? What are you talking about? She can't stand me, and I find her annoying! Cute, yes. But completely annoying! She had me fired over TOMATOES! I only drove her to pick up YOUR stupid overprice wheelchair I'm sure you didn't even really need! Where the hell are you getting this idea that we're dating?!_

That's everything Gio found himself _wanting_ to day to Daniel. However, the only word he managed to get out was yet another confused, "What?"

Daniel patted Gio on the shoulder. "I guess you two hit it off when you drove her to Jersey to get my new chair." he continued. "It's odd, but it's kind of sweet Betty found a new boyfriend out of what I like to call The Great Tomato Tragedy."

The realization as to why Betty was really pointing at him earlier that day came crashing down on Gio like a waterfall. She wasn't trying to get him fired. She wasn't telling her boss about his shop. _She was telling him I was her boyfriend._ Gio hung his head down, rubbed his chin and began to chuckle.

_Oh, I'm going to have a LOT of fun with this._

Daniel chuckled as well. "Now it looks like I can't figure out what the joke is," he said, curiously cocking his head to the side.

Gio looked Daniel straight in the eye. _Show time_. "You'll have to excuse me," he began. "I'm finding it real cool I _finally_ get to meet the boss Betty's always tells me so much about!"

Daniel looked flattered. "Well, I can't say I've heard a lot about you. I don't understand why Betty was so secretive about this. If she had just told me who she was dating in the first place I would've gotten off her back. I don't even think this is really an office romance since you technically don't work here."

"You know…I think she felt bad about having me fired." Gio answered, leaning closer to Daniel as if he were telling a secret. "She still feels real bad about that. She even apologizes to me every night." Gio then took a couple of steps back, raised his eyebrows and grinned wide. "And I mean almost _every_ night."

Daniel shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah…well. Like I said, it's nice to see she's moved on."

"Tell you what," Gio said, realizing he was enjoying this way too much, and feeling a twinge of guilt about his suggestive comment about Betty. _Hey...she brought all this on herself!_ "Maybe some time after my shop opens, you can bring a date down to my shop and eat dinner with Betty and I. I have a patented dinner sandwich that is off the hook! I'm sure Betty has told you about them."

Daniel stared at Gio for what seemed like an eternity. After a few more moments of odd blinking, Daniel put on what Gio instantly recognized as one of the fakest smiles he had ever seen and held a thumb up into the air. "Sounds like a plan!" Daniel said. "Look, I actually came over here to give you something."

Daniel pulled two small pieces of paper out of his suit jacket. "You have Betty to thank for these," he said, handing them to Gio.

Gio glanced down and recognized they were two tickets to a Broadway show. He smiled as he realized he felt a lot like the green witch that was smirking up at him. "Wicked?" Gio asked.

Daniel shrugged. "Well, I overheard Betty on the phone really working hard to get these. She said this would really mean a lot to you." Gio suddenly felt as though he were being examined. "You really don't look like the kind of guy who would enjoy a play like this." Daniel bluntly added.

Gio's excitement over this situation was tainted slightly by a twinge of annoyance. _Why, because anyone who makes sandwiches all day is only interested in watching football and hockey?_ "What's that suppose to mean?" he asked.

Daniel must've sensed Gio's tone. "I didn't mean anything by that," he explained, waving his hand apologetically. "I guess I'm still a little suspicious. This just seems more like something her last boyfriend would be crazy about." Again, Daniel shrugged. "I guess I was wrong. I'm _glad_ I'm wrong. Really."

Gio smiled as he thought about how Betty would look when he confronted Betty about all this. In the short time he has known Betty, he noticed she had a wide range of reactions. He honestly didn't know if she'd be flustered or angry. "Don't worry, Dan the Man! Betty's being taken care of."

"Well, you do seem excited."

_I bet she'll be flustered, and then angry at me. _"Excited doesn't even _begin_ to describe how I feel right now!"

Daniel smiled, nodded, looked down at his watch and then jumped as if his watch bit him. "_Damn_ it!" he muttered under his breath. "Listen, I have to get going. Again, it was nice meeting you. You two enjoy yourselves tonight!"

"Oh, I _definitely_ plan on enjoying this evening!" Gio smirked.

Daniel started to walk away, but then stopped and turned back towards Gio. "Real quick," he added. "There is a slight possibility I'll be there tonight as well. Maybe I'll see you both there? Then maybe we can go out to dinner after the show. I can't say I'm into sandwiches, but maybe we could hit someplace else? I'm thinking maybe Jean-Georges. My treat."

_I really don't need you to show me how rich and spoiled you are. _"Sounds great!" Gio grinned, holding his thumb up in the air and hoping Daniel would recognize his copycat fakeness. He didn't. He merely waved back at Gio and sped off down the hall.

Gio stared down at the two tickets he held in one hand and the extra fliers he held in the other. Suddenly, he found himself no longer interested in advertising his shop. He placed the extra fliers on the table behind him.

_Now…if I were a sun dried tomato loving, wannabe writer with cute little muscles, where would I be? _Gio thought, as he walked towards where he thought Betty's desk would be.

TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I really thought this chapter would be the one of the easiest to write because…let's face it. The dialogue is already there for me! However I realized it's hard to write the proper action for such excellently written dialogue! Needless to say, I'm not 100 satisfied with this, but I hope I kept everyone in character and I hope you enjoy it.**

As it turned out, Gio didn't need to search very long for Betty.

As soon as he got to the area where her desk was, Gio saw Betty talking to Daniel, who still seemed to be eager to get to wherever he needed to be. Gio had planned to walk straight up to Betty, put his arm around her and plant a big wet one on her cheek. "Hello cutie!" he would say as Betty struggled to play off her surprise and disgust so she could stay in character in front of her boss.

By the time Gio got close enough, Daniel had already provided Gio with the perfect entrance: "I gave them to your boyfriend," he heard Daniel say. "He seemed pretty excited."

Gio propped himself against a desk to casually wait for Betty to notice him. From the corner of his eye, as he held the tickets in the air to pretend to be studying them with interest, he could feel the dread radiating off of Betty as she quickly realized who it was she'd have to track down and speak to. So it was no surprise to Gio that when Betty turned around and saw him, she stopped dead in her tracks as if he were standing there with a shot gun and not her tickets.

"So I'm just curious," Gio began, confidently walking over to Betty. He made a point to wave her tickets around to drive home the fact he had something she wanted. "Being your boyfriend and all…am I a gentle lover?"

Betty scowled. "_Ew_! Shut up!" she said. Gio smiled at her predictable reaction. "I had to tell my boss I was going out with someone, and you were the first guy I saw."

"Flattered." Gio replied. He was surprised to find he was flattered a little. She could've just as easily picked one of the girly Mode boys that were styling and profiling all over the office. Still, it seemed weird that Betty would have to fake that she was dating someone. _Is it some sort of weird Mode requirement? _"Why are you lying to him?" he asked.

Betty clearly wasn't comfortable with the question. "Because…well, I…I'm dating someone I don't want Daniel to know about."

_She just makes this all too easy, _Gio mused. "Ooh! Are you cheating on me?" Gio asked, with a fake hurt expression on his face. "After I was so gentle?"

"_Stop it!" _Betty exasperated. "Can I just have my tickets, please?"

_Not until I figure out what Mode Boy here has the guts to put up with you. _He held the tickets high above his head. "First tell me who you're dating."

"No!!"

"Tell me who you're dating!" Gio insisted.

Betty desperately grabbed at her tickets. "Why don't you get your own life?!" She exclaimed. "_Please_?" She made a few more vain attempts at the tickets before she realized Gio's pleased eyebrow raise meant he wasn't giving in.

"Okay. Henry from Accounting. There." She held out her hand expecting that to be the end of the conversation.

_Him?! The guy who suggested I place his pickle "perpendicular" to his egg salad sandwich? _"Oh yeah. Egg Salad on white. Sexy." _At least she's not going with a Mode Boy. She's just going out with the Bland and the Dorkable. The Dull and the Tasteless. I honestly don't know what's worse. _He noticed Betty was glaring at him and had her hand out, impatiently awaiting her tickets. Instead, he granted her a playful hand slap. "More." he demanded.

Betty sighed. "Okay…" she continued, lowering her voice. "He got a girl pregnant, and I don't want Daniel to know that I'm dating him because if he does, he's just gonna tell me that I'm being stupid."

"Wow! You are being stupid!" Gio said. _Oops. Didn't mean to say that out loud…_

"You're a _very rude _fake boyfriend." Betty sneered. "Now can I have my tickets please?"

Gio has seen women like Betty many times before. Smart, intelligent, lovely, and feisty women who seem to have a good head on their shoulders, but continually do things that hold them back. They date guys who are clearly not good enough for them and convince themselves it will all be worth it in the long run, but are only left either depressed or bitter. He had heard older women tell stories about the men who broke their hearts. He had watched female friends go home crying. Even Allegra repeatedly got herself in these kinds of situations.

But Betty seemed like she was too good for this. To him, Betty was a naïve, love struck young woman who had so much ahead of her in life, and Egg Salad was another guy who was having his cake and eating it too. He knew it really wasn't his place, but for some reason he felt he couldn't let Betty fall into the same pattern. Acknowleding to himself that what he was about to do wasn't exactly well thought out, he handed her back one ticket, but made sure she saw he was keeping the other. Maybe if she just didn't go out with Egg Salad, she'd have time to come to her senses.

"Uh, no. The other one too." he heard Betty say as he walked away.

"I need to be prepared in case Daniel asks me about the show." Gio lied, realizing he hadn't known Betty long enough for her to find his impulsive decision to protect her to be charming.

Betty stared at him in disbelief. "_What_? Are you kidding?"

"Hey. He gave them to both of us, okay?" Gio answered candidly. "You do what you want with _yours_, and I'm gonna do what I want with mine." _Why not move on with your life and hang out with me? It would be a hell of a lot more fun than going out with Mr. Perpendicular Pickle._

"Well, I'm not going to go with _you_!" Betty exclaimed, almost as if reading his mind. "THANK YOU for ruining my special night!" She shoved her ticket into his shirt pocket and stormed off. "Oh, and I have _news_ for you, buddy," she angrily continued, ripping one of his fliers off the wall. "Your pickle with the smiley face? It's…it's…"

_Come on. You can do it. It's intolerable. It's humiliatingly obnoxious. It's embarrassingly unoriginal…_

"_Bad_!" Betty sneered, stomping off.

_Aw…she barely even tried! _"Ooh…big words coming from the writer!"

"Suck it!" Betty managed to bark back at him before disappearing around the corner.

_It's official. Betty is the Poster Girl for being cute when she's angry. _He peeked around the corner and saw Betty talking to some blond chick at the front desk. _I wonder if she's trying to get more tickets? _Gio thought, as he headed back to find the fliers he had sat down earlier. _If she is, THAT would be amusing. She'd probably throw a fit once she saw me there._

He pulled the crumpled ticket out of his pocket. _Too bad she stormed off before I had a chance to tell her about her boss possibly showing up,_ Gio grinned._ That's going to be one hell of a situation to see her get out of. Certainly can't miss that._

Gio's cell phone rang, and he rolled his eyes once he saw who it was.

"Hi, Allegra."

"The bitch effing hung up on me!!!"

Gio sighed. "Who hung up on you?" he asked, trying to sound interested. "Tina?"

"No!" Allegra shouted. "Patty! I _knew_ she was on Tina's side!"

"Allegra, I really don't have time to listen to yet another chapter from the Diary of a Mad Italian Woman today." Gio explained. "You and I both know all this is about is you not really wanting the promotion because you can't handle responsibility as _usual_, so you're doing everything possible to sabotage any chance you'll have. Then you'll get yourself fired and of course that will be someone else's fault."

"Says the guy who got himself fired all because he wouldn't put extra tomatoes on some chick's sandwich." Allegra stated frigidly.

"Damn it! Ma talks too much." Gio grumbled. "Look, I've got myself fired from working at a sandwich cart and now I'm using that push to start my own business." _Thanks to angrily adorable Betty. _"When _you_ get fired you spend the next three months vowing revenge against all those who wronged you."

"I don't have to listen to this," Allegra dramatically announced. "I was going to help you out and watch Nella tonight for you, but since you want to be a know it all…"

"Nah, it's all right." Gio said, as he glance down at the smirking green witch on his tickets. _Or Betty's tickets. Whatever._ "I'm taking Antonella some place I think she'll find highly entertaining."

**TBC.**

**A/N: Actually, I have angelgrl to thank for part of this! We were discussing Gio taking Betty's tickets and how that action really annoyed me. I think angelgrl had said it didn't bother her as much. Anyway, during that brief conversation I was able to think of a reason that's slightly more likeable. So thanks, girl:- **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am SO sorry it took so long to update this story. I came across some Writer's block, then got sick, then found out I was sick because I was knocked up (LOL)! Now I'm working, going to school and raising a boy, so my story time is pretty limited. Not to mention, the way Ugly Betty's writers handled the whole Gio/Betty storyline kind of soured my mood. But I'm determined to finish this!**

**I had planned on waiting until I was finished with at least the fifth chapter, but I figured a particular friend of mine could use at least a slight cheer up. So hopefully she as well as the rest of you will like this short chapter after such a long wait! -BP**

"You've got to be kidding me."

"There's mud on this one!"

"It's just a _drop_, Antonella! We don't have time for you to run all the way back upstairs so you can take another hour getting dressed."

"But I'm supposed to dress up fancy!"

"You look fine! Now let's go, or I'm going to leave you here!"

Antonella folded her arms. "You wouldn't do that," she said, smiling mischievously at her big brother. "You're not as mean as Allegra."

"Who told you that?"

"Allegra."

"Well, she's right," Gio said, grabbing his sister's hand and dragging her to the taxi. "But I doubt there is anyone in New York that is as mean as Allegra."

Antonella pouted as she slid into the Taxi. "I _hate_ taxis!" She whined. "They always smell funny. This one smells like Corn Nuts and dog farts." Gio chuckled nervously as he saw the driver frown. Antonella was unaffected. "Why can't we take the van?"

"Because certain little girls took too long getting ready," Gio explained. "And now we don't have time to find parking."

"I am not a little girl!" Antonella said causally. "I am a pre-teen. Ma said. This is why it's important that I look pretty at all times."

"Look, Nella," Gio sighed. "I promise you are going to have fun tonight. And I promise to buy you almost anything you want, but you have to help me out here and do your best not to be such a little pain in the ass. Okay?"

Antonella smiled. "Okay," she agreed. "But while we're out you have to treat me like you treat Allegra."

"You want me to pretend I don't know you?" Gio teased.

"No!" she laughed. "Just don't treat me like some stupid little kid. That's what Ma and Pop do and it's embarrassing."

"Agreed." Gio said. _God, I hope Betty will be there._

Antonella started griping about some girl at school who stole her Zack Efron poster – _God, she's turning more and more like Allegra each day_ – and Gio found himself tuning her out. The closer he got to the theater, the more nervous he became. Betty seemed pretty angry with him. _Maybe I should've given her back the ticket. It really wasn't my place to save her from the Perpendicular Pickle. Jesus, I really need to stop calling him that. It sounds too much like I'm talking about his nuts. Maybe…_

"And she told me she'd give me another photo at lunch time today, but she never did!" Antonella concluded angrily.

"We'll just find you another Zack photo," Gio replied. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Why are you so anxious to get to this play?" Antonella asked, with one eyebrow raised suspiciously. "You didn't even know what this play was. And you don't like plays."

"I do so, and I'm not in a rush. I just want to get there in time to meet a friend."

"A _girl_ friend?" Antonella giggled.

"She is a girl, and she's a friend. But she'll be with her boyfriend. Mr. Perpendicular Pickle and all his baggage."

"What does Purple dick you liar mean?" Nella asked. The driver laughed. _It's official. I'm never using that name again._

"PerPENdicuLAR," Gio corrected, trying to ignore the driver who was still giggling. "It means straight up and down."

"Why do you call him Perpendicular Pickle?"

"I don't anymore, thanks to you."

"Do you want to be this girl's _boyfriend_?" Nella asked mischievously.

Gio rolled his eyes. "I _told_ you, Nella. She's just a friend."

"You're never this nervous to meet anyone who's just a _friend_," Antonella noted.

"I'm not nervous. I just don't like being late."

"No" Antonella stated. "You like her. You don't even look like this when Ma cooks."

"May I remind you that this is the chick that got me fired? I know you know about that."

"You bought tickets just so you could see her and steal her away from Mr. Purple dickular Pickle!" Antonella sighed, dramatically throwing her hand to her forehead.

"It's PurPENdicular, and you know what…let's just call him Egg Salad. That's perfect and boring and doesn't sound so X-Rated." _Actually, it was perfect. Pasty, bland, boring…_ Gio's train of thought was interrupted after he and Antonella jarred forward suddenly.

"$35.50" the driver said after screeching to a halt.

"My brother should get a discount" Antonella demanded. "Not only do we now smell like a toilet but you can't drive."

"Antonella…"Gio warned, handing the driver the money.

"Take the little angel and get out" the driver growled, clearly irritated. Gio couldn't help but chuckle when he realized his sister had adopted the Rossi tradition of pissing people off. "You really need to watch your mouth," Gio scolded as they walked away.

"But now we smell like pee!" Antonella exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter! I know Ma and Pop don't let you speak to adults like that."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, I'm not mad at you," Gio insisted. Betty was still weighing heavy on Gio's mind. _What if she couldn't get tickets and she's not even here?_ "I just think you and I need to learn to keep some opinions to ourselves."

He wasn't surprised to see Antonella wasn't even listening. They had reached the lobby, and her eyes lit up with excitement. "Over there!" she yelled. "There are the T-Shirts! I need two of them, Gio! I need the 'Popular' one and the 'Defy Gravity' one!"

"You can have _one_," Gio said. "I already spent $40 just getting here and I know you're going to want something to eat."

"That's _your_ fault for not taking the van," Antonella said dismissively. "Just make me a sandwich at home."

"I think I will just make you a sandwich at home," Gio said. "And you're still getting one shirt. Here's the money. Bye bye!"

"Aw," he heard Antonella moan as she walked towards the stand.

Gio continued to scope the crowd. _She's not here! Damn it! I'd see them if they were here! How hard is it to see a six foot tall Clark Kent wannabe with a five foot woman who will most likely be wearing the weirdest outfit on earth?_ He glanced at the T-Shirt stand briefly to make sure Antonella was still in line.

_We did get here late_, Gio remembered. _Betty seems like she's pretty punctual. She'd probably tap her cute little foot and pout her adorable little mouth if Egg Salad didn't get here early._

He took another glance at Antonella, who was now hopping up and down impatiently behind the two people who were still in front of her. Gio realized her was just a few foot taps away from hopping up and down impatiently with her.

_What if she got here with Eggy and her boss caught them together and now she's in trouble?_ Gio found his pang of guilt interesting. _I really didn't think this save the smart girl plan out very well at all._

"Hurry up or we all will miss the show!" he heard Antonella yell at the girl in front of her.

"Antonella," Gio yelled back. "Cut it out."

Gio's gaze floated back towards the crowd, where his eyes met with a disappointed pair of red framed glasses staring back at him...


End file.
